Abstract
Cell culture of Maytenus ilicifolia were established in order to produce and to quantify the antitumoral and antioxidant quinonemethide triterpenes. In vitro calli were induced from leaf explants of native plants and cultured in semi-solid medium under controlled conditions of humidity, temperature and photoperiod. The quinonemethide triterpenes showed maximum accumulation in the logarithmic phase growth of the cell culture. A rapid, sensitive and reliable reverse-phase HPLC method was used for quantitative determination of the antitumoral and antioxidant quinonemethide triterpenes, 22β-hydroxymaytenin and maytenin in callus of Maytenus ilicifolia. Well resolved peaks with good detection response and linearity in the range 1.0 - 100 µg/mL were obtained. This quantitative work was performed by an external standard method.
Highlights
Plants produce a wide variety of so called secondary metabolites
The Celastraceae family has shown the accumulation of an interesting class of bioactive compounds, the quinonemethide triterpenes. 7,8 These triterpenes have been intensively studied by several important research groups due their biological activities, such as antitumoral, antimicrobial, antibiotic and antioxidant. 9,10,11,12,13,6 The genus Maytenus, of Celastraceae, was selected among 200 species as a putative matrix to develop the in vitro system with the objective of improving the production and to obtain a useful model system for studying the biosynthesis of these valuable compounds. 14,8,15 We closely monitored growth parameters such as length of lag, of log phases, and growth speed during the log phase, for each of the different callus lines obtained from Maytenus ilicifolia (Celastraceae) and their capacity for producing quinonemethides
The quinonemethide production during the early stage can be explained by growth-associated with the undifferentiated cells. This finding was corroborated by the determination of the cyclase and P450 oxygenase activities involved in the ciclazation and oxygenation steps 8 of the quinonemethide biosynthesis using cell free extracts of Maytenus ilicifolia callus in an early stage (Buffa Filho, unpublished data)
Summary
Plants produce a wide variety of so called secondary metabolites. These compounds play a role in the survival of the plant in its ecosystem and are involved in resistance against pests and diseases, attraction of pollinators and interaction with symbiotic microorganisms. The evolving commercial importance of secondary metabolite has led, in recent years, led scientists and biotechnologists to consider plant cell, tissue and organ cultures as an alternative way to produce the corresponding secondary metabolites. Cell tissues growth curve demonstrated that the high yielding of the compounds was at the logarithmic phase.
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